There's just something about shooting in the pre-dawn hours...

As you know by now, I really really really love getting up early and getting out to shoot at dawn, or preferably before dawn. That half hour or so before sunrise, when blue hour arrives, is just magical. That time of day is a gift. It seems like you are the only person in the world, and it's fabulous. I am never disappointed with an early wakeup for something like that.

So when I travel, I try and take advantage of my location and I get up early and go exploring. There is nothing quite like walking some fabulous city with no one to get in your shots. But I make an effort to do this at home too, after clearing it with the family of course. Not everyone in the house likes to get up early. :-)

And so on a fairly recent morning, I did just that. I arose and headed downtown to an area just south of the river. Technically, it's called South Congress Avenue, but everyone here calls it SoCo nowadays. In some ways that part of town is the source of the "Keep Austin Weird" vibe, or in other words, it's a fun place to go take photos.

There are myriad food trailers and lots of interesting and funky stores, all of which are great to shoot. There are a few restaurants too, and even a couple of hotels. It's all quite fun and entertaining, even without a camera (though I recommend one!).

So I wandered and shot, wandered and shot, and talked to a couple of homeless folks who passed me by. I do tend to watch my back a little closer when it's dark outside, but that's just the Boy Scout in me being prepared. I've never had an incident, and don't expect to.

I feel safe here. It's my hometown, and I love it.

And I have been adding a lot to my SmugMug site lately, which you can find here. The Austin gallery there is by far the largest, topping out at 150 photos now. More to come!